Monday, 03 March 2014

At Home with Hugo, Part 2

After the Chinese room, the next is a dining room, which had a number of rather ornate, dark pieces of furniture. I wasn't entirely sure if these were actually used by Victor Hugo and family, or were they simply "of the period" when he lived there. He did design some of the furniture that was in the apartment, however, so it is possible this piece was among them.

The next two rooms were a small study, and a larger study, both being used primarily as exhibition space where they had some works by another artist. However, in the larger study has this iconic portrait of Hugo, done by Léon Bonnat:

The last room was a bedroom, a recreation of Hugo's bed chamber from his last residence on Avenue d'Eylau. It may not have been Hugo's actual bedroom when he originally lived here, but his grandchildren donated some of the furnishings, including a desk upon which Hugo would write while standing up, and the bed in which Hugo slept... and died on May 22, 1885.

Victor Hugo died in that very bed.

The "standing" writing desk is on the left; you can just see the plumed pen.

On the way out of the museum, there was a book where visitors could leave a word or two about their experience. A lot of the comments were clearly from visiting school children. This one was especially amusing:

"It's very good. The visit was very rich but I couldn't find #11 on the children's audio guide. But otherwise it's perfect!!! Long Live Victor Hugo!!!"

A drawing of Hugo by a young visitor: "I am Victor Hugo, yippee!!"

The rest of the images which follow are from the staircase leading up to the apartment, which had some very nice stained glass windows, and around the apartment.

A lovely vanity table, belonging (I assume) to Hugo's mistress of many years, Juliette Drouet.

Window with stained glass inserts in the staircase.

Dining table and furniture.

Small plaque at the start of the visit, showing the dates Victor Hugo was in residence.

The Maison de Victor Hugo in Paris is open daily except Mondays from 10am to 6pm. Admission is free, audio guides cost 5€ to rent (children's guides are available). Groups must book in advance; there are special conference and guided activity visits possible for groups, for a fee. Check the web site for details.

Comments

After the Chinese room, the next is a dining room, which had a number of rather ornate, dark pieces of furniture. I wasn't entirely sure if these were actually used by Victor Hugo and family, or were they simply "of the period" when he lived there. He did design some of the furniture that was in the apartment, however, so it is possible this piece was among them.

The next two rooms were a small study, and a larger study, both being used primarily as exhibition space where they had some works by another artist. However, in the larger study has this iconic portrait of Hugo, done by Léon Bonnat:

The last room was a bedroom, a recreation of Hugo's bed chamber from his last residence on Avenue d'Eylau. It may not have been Hugo's actual bedroom when he originally lived here, but his grandchildren donated some of the furnishings, including a desk upon which Hugo would write while standing up, and the bed in which Hugo slept... and died on May 22, 1885.

Victor Hugo died in that very bed.

The "standing" writing desk is on the left; you can just see the plumed pen.

On the way out of the museum, there was a book where visitors could leave a word or two about their experience. A lot of the comments were clearly from visiting school children. This one was especially amusing:

"It's very good. The visit was very rich but I couldn't find #11 on the children's audio guide. But otherwise it's perfect!!! Long Live Victor Hugo!!!"

A drawing of Hugo by a young visitor: "I am Victor Hugo, yippee!!"

The rest of the images which follow are from the staircase leading up to the apartment, which had some very nice stained glass windows, and around the apartment.

A lovely vanity table, belonging (I assume) to Hugo's mistress of many years, Juliette Drouet.

Window with stained glass inserts in the staircase.

Dining table and furniture.

Small plaque at the start of the visit, showing the dates Victor Hugo was in residence.

The Maison de Victor Hugo in Paris is open daily except Mondays from 10am to 6pm. Admission is free, audio guides cost 5€ to rent (children's guides are available). Groups must book in advance; there are special conference and guided activity visits possible for groups, for a fee. Check the web site for details.

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